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In honor of May's Melanoma and Skin Cancer Detection & Prevention Month, Renu Laser & Skincare would like to send you all a friendly reminder to WEAR SUNSCREEN!
Not only can it help to prevent melanoma and skin cancer, but it will also keep your skin healthy and beautiful.
A little background information: the sun has two types of UV radiation that it emits that are harmful and we must worry about: UVA & UVB. Both A & B Ultraviolet rays are invisible to the eye, but can cause immense skin damage and skin cancer, without proper precautions. These rays are emitted from the sun, but can also come from both tanning beds and sun lamps.
Luckily, we have the option to use a multitude of different sunscreens that can help protect against the sun's harmful rays. Let's start with the basics. . .
- 'SPF' stands for Sun Protection Factor. Let's say that unprotected, your skin will turn red in about 10 minutes. The SPF number on your sunscreen will protect that specified extended amount of times. For example, you bought an SPF 15. That would mean that you have an extra 150 minutes of protection while using that SPF 15.
- It is, however, important to remember that you MUST reapply after sweating, going in water, or after any activity that may have disturbed the sunscreen.
- Sunscreen will lose its effectiveness every two hours and you will need to re-apply.
- Get a 'broad spectrum' sunscreen, which will protect you from UVA AND UVB rays. Remember to read the sunscreen you are buying, as some only protect from one of the sun's harmful rays.
- Wearing sunscreen is the easiest and cheapest way to prevent skin cancer and keep skin looking young!
Please remember that just because you may not be at the pool, beach, etc. during your daily routing, you still need to be concerned about the sun's harmful effects to your exposed skin on a daily basis. One of my very favorite daily protection sunscreens that Renu Laser and Skincare offers, is by the Obagi C skin care line, which incorporates a daily SPF 30. (Pictured above-right)
For quick sun protection on-the-go, Renu also has a great powder sunscreen by Colorescience that offers mattefying coverage in clear (or color, if you want it). All you have to do is brush it on your face and exposed skin areas, and BOOM, off you go. . .
While maintaining your daily routine of incorporating sunscreen into your beauty regimen, it is important to also continually monitor your skin for any signs of potential skin cancer.
It is imperative to routinely check your skin for any signs of cancer. A good way to remember to do this is to know you 'ABCDE's'. . .
A - Asymmetry - Is the spot on your skin asymmetrical? (One half is unlike the other)
B - Border Irregularity - Does it have irregular borders? (Scalloped or poorly defined)
C - Color - Is there presence of more than one color? (Uneven distribution of color)
D - Diameter - Is the spot larger than the diameter of a pencil eraser? (Approximately 6 millimeters)
E - Evolution - Is a spot or mole going through an evolution, or changing?
If you answered 'yes' to any of the questions above, make yourself an appointment with your dermatologist ASAP to get it looked at, and potentially biopsied. Early detection and a proactive approach can help save you from skin cancer. And, of course, WEAR SUNSCREEN!
In closing, I want to lead you to one of my favorite pieces of literature, which in my opinion offers great advice. It was delivered as a graduation commencement speech (Mary Schmich/Kurt Vonnegut), and has also been turned into a song (Baz Luhrmann). ENJOY, it goes a little something like this:
'Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don't be reckless with other people's hearts. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and, in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when they're gone. Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.
Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders.
Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.'
